1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of networking, and, more particularly, to discovering end-user devices and establishing a collaboration application session between/among the end-user devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
P2P is a communications model in which two or more parties (or “peers”) have the same communications capabilities and any party can initiate a communications session. This differs from other communications models, such as the “client/server” model and the “master/slave” model, in which different nodes may have different communications capabilities. P2P communications may be implemented by giving each communications node both server and client capabilities. In recent years, the term “P2P” has generally come to describe applications in which a group of users can use a network (e.g., the Internet) to directly exchange files through at least one mediating server. In most P2P models, the mediating server is effectively “hidden” from the end-user; thus, the end-user is led to believe that a “direct” connection with another end-user is made.
A P2P network is generally a type of transient network that allows a group of computer users to connect with each other and directly discover and/or transfer files stored in each other's computers (e.g., stored in a hard drive). The P2P network is generally created through the use of P2P networking software such as Kazaa (now commonly called FastTrack), Napster and Gnutella.
The initial growth of P2P networks was primarily due to its ability to directly share multimedia (e.g., music, movies). However, unresolved legal issues associated with the sharing of protected works may reduce the use of P2P networks for such purpose. Therefore, it would be advantageous to use P2P networks in other ways, for example, in gaming and business applications.